surfer

Put it in neutral and increase the throttle above idle some helps, but there is no real shortcut. That can also help it fire faster sometimes. Like cart7 said "every outboard I've ever owned had it's own little eccentricities". Memorizing the pattern of what works best (once you find it) is the only fastest way.

Dont forget the fuel pump. In my case it was cheaper than a carb clean and it ended up being the fix. Always start with the cheapest and easiest fix then move up the line in order of cheapness.

I wouldn't think the vent not being open would cause the 8 mph you are describing. The vent should cause a more gradual shut down as the negative pressure builds in the fuel tank. That boat looks brand new. I would take it back to the dealer for him to fix. You paid for a working product so it's his problem right now. If you go tinkering under the hood you may break something and void the warranty. The difference between 23 and 8 and that it's always one or the other makes me think its a two cylinder engine and one cylinder is dropping out. It could be a loose sparkplug wire or any number of other things that would cause a plug not to fire some times but fire other times. I hate intermittent problems. I wish it would break or not break.

I believe most Portable fish finders will either have replaceble AA, C, D, or internal rechargeable batteries. Read the details. It should be in the description.

I one of the one's that can say that. Me too! 8-) aside from the 20 ft and 2-300 hp... Me Too

To each their own. I am a believer in the stuff (suffix), but i still get an occasional knot in it. How can it tie itself around an eyelet so well so quickly? I use spinning reels and have found leaving a 1/4 inch lip when filling the spool is better than 1/8. I figured that out after cutting a dozen knots out then I had a 1/4 inch lip and no more knots.

I was in Bass Pro yesterday and looked at their display models. Wow. The side imaging looks superiorly clear compared to the standard 20*/60* cone on regular hi res finders. The small screen looks amazing, but the wide screen looks amazinger. The amount of information increase over the standard fish finder is staggering. I am fishing out of a boat that cost less than $2000 after all rigging. No way could I justify a fish finder that costs more than my boat. But Wow. That thing is like x-ray vision.

Help me understand. Can you take your regular transducer and aim it to the side like it was a flashlight? Would you be able to see what's in the 30* cone? Is the hummingbird side imaging like having multiple flashlights combined for greater visibility? Or dose it require different software/ hardware to interpret the side shot sonar? Thanks in advance.

Being that the hydraulics can hold under hole shot conditions her 170 shouldn't be a problem, but is she nimble enough to stay on it as the capitation plate tilts upward. And where will she step to after that. If she slips there are many different injuries that may happen. A ladder would be much safer. http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0025428010933a&type=product&cmCat=search&returnPage=search-results1.jsp&QueryText=boat+ladder&N=4887&Ntk=Products&Ntx=mode+matchall&Nty=1&Ntt=boat+ladder&noImage=0 I recommend the 4 rung version.

Congrats on the new rod. I bet you have been eyeing that for a while. I am still getting questions from my friends about buying a G. Loomis IMX. I think they are scared to use it because it might be that much better. Then they might have to buy one.

In the Orland BPS they have as many Browning and BPS rods as all the other combined. Makes you think.

And thanks for the advice. I will look for the newly flooded shallows.

I was fishing Lake Conway on Friday evening and Nona on Sunday morning. completely skunked on Conway. This was mostly my fault as my fish finder found more suspended bass and few structure/ cover bass so i went after the suspended ones with live shiner, live worm and my usual barrage of artificial I am comfortable with. Nada. Sunday I did everything right. Lake Nona is by far my most productive fishing spot. I started outside the grass line and picked up one dink in the first five minutes so i think its going to be a normal 10 bass morning. Nothing for the next two hours. We can see the action near us with small bass ambushing bait at a grass point. Wouldn't hit a live worm on a bobber dangled right there. They were hitting bait within 3 ft of my bobber. So we moved inside the grass line and spent 3 hours and caught 2 dinks and a 1.25 lb. in 1 or 2 ft of water. I spent a fair amount of time with my usual techniques and 1/3 of my time trying different stuff just to see if something would work. I did notice the water was twice as clear on Nona as usual. Visibility was about 6 ft. I don't know what to make of it. My other 5 trips to Nona I landed no less than 12 fish. It fits the pattern of the previous 3 weeks being tough for me here in central Florida. I guess I will put it in the log book as a memorable event and hope it reveals its secrets to me in the future. Maybe I will learn to find them after heavy rains.

Please try the Diawa Samuri Braid also and let us know how that stacks up.

In central Florida we have received about 5 inches of rain in three weeks. We needed it and still need some more. The bite was fine for the preceding month, but after the first 1/2 inch fell the bite turned off. Now that the sun is back out the bite is still off (as of Sunday). I hadn't noticed that the bite had coincided with the heavy rains. I was talking to an old man with an old boat and some beat up rods at the gas station and he said it was the rain. Has anyone else noticed this pattern? And when will the bite come back? Or am I just not finding the fish?

Thats a good one. I got nothing on that.

A hydrometer can tell you the most, but electric voltmeters are easier. Your fish finder should have one on it. 12.66V =100% 12.45V = 75% 12.24V = 50% 12.06V = 25% 11.89V = 0% http://www.interstatebatteries.com/www_2001/content/faqs/tech_talk/maintenance/ocv_chart.htm You are correct that lead acid batteries do not have a memory. You are correct in charging them ASAP after use. I would call and inform the dealer of his error in knowledge of his product. If he is unwilling to agree and educate himself on his own products I would not trust his advice on any products he sells. He may be purposefully advising clients to kill their batteries and then buy more from him. Google search Deep Cycle Battery Maintenance for more in-depth info.

That's not a lot of info to go on. Dose it come with a bill of sale and a title. If not you may have a hard time registering it. If you can't register it you can't take it out on public lakes. If it dose have a title then some helpful info will be on the title.

14'6" McKee Craft (like a Boston whaler) with home made deck on back and small cargo hatch / deck up front. 60 HP Johnson with no reverse. Foot steer trolling motor up front. I like the extra weight of the fiberglass heavy hull. It rocks slowly in chop and also handles chop at speed fairly well. It fits my 5000 acre lake well. I spend about $3 in gas each outing. I don't need any thing bigger. I just need a better layout and organization up front.

Rod. The rod and line allows you to feel the fish. The real allows you bring the fish in. You cannot bring in what you didn't know was there. I mostly worm fish with slow presentations. For crank baits, etc. a reel may be more important for the presentation of bait.

Suffix 10# with floro leader. Adding a leader is adding a weak spot at the line to line knot, but i fish water that is 10 ft visability and feal it is nescisary. Suffix dose loose its color, but with a leader its not an isue for me. I like the suffix better than the Power Pro. Power Pro is the most popular.

Palomar, Uni-knot, and uni-uni for line to line. 0- falures

I was in the same place just a few months ago. I haven't handled Many rods and don't know much about what brands are reputable. But mostly I didn't want to buy one rod now and then find one better later on. So I asked questions here on this forum and ended up with a $220 G Loomis IMX. It is pretty close to an industry standard for high end rods. Couple that with a $60 no questions asked replacement policy and I will have this rod for the res tof my life. Once I learn its intimate feeling in my hand I will never have to relearn with another rod in the future. Ask questions about sensitivity, warrantee, quality and fishing technique her on the forum. Or if you just want to choose between the two, whichever one you end up buying will be the better of the two after you learn its intimate feel. Here is the thread were I asked about sensitivity upgrade or big upgrade. http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1180712318/0

There are many different ways to skin a cat or build a boat ramp. It will depend on what tools, skills, and lake conditions you have (muddy you said). It will also matter how much you want to spend and longevity desired. For anything you want to last 20+ years you will need concrete. Gravel by itself may not last too long unless you use a lot of it. This is dependent on how soft the mud is so I don't want to take a guess. If you go the gravel rout check into recycled crushed concrete if you have any in your area. How big or heavy of a boat do you intend to launch? I like ShellBack's idea of digging a hole next to the lake. Then building the ramp in that hole. Then digging the lake to the ramp. You will need a pump to keep the hole dry while you build the ramp. The push slab method DELee mentioned is economical if you have a big enough tractor or back ho. It will save time and fuel, but if anything hangs up underwater you may not be able to see what the problem is.

Sometimes the fish is trying to stun your bait and then come back and eat it head first. I got to see this happen with my jointed shad rapala. The bass T-boned it at full spead just befor gettign to the boat. He got a hook in the forehead and side. Tanner